by Effie Moore Salem

Created on: May 26, 2010   Last Updated: June 14, 2010

When is home health care appropriate?

Home health care is the approved choice of care over institutional care.The emotional well being of the patient is an important consideration. Most disabled folk fear being away from familiar surrounding and having to live in assisted care, or into long term care facilities. When home care is no longer possible because of the severity of the illness, or when the type of care needed is beyond what home care workers can give, then home health care is not appropriate.

Many patients can remain in their home and can manage quite well with a health care aid coming in daily, or in some cases, three times a week to assist with showering, food preparation, and grocery shopping. This happens mostly when an elderly person is perfectly able to live alone, but does need help.

When home health care is appropriate to keep the elderly in their beloved home; to assist with complicated procedures that is beyond what family members can give; to fill in when the family is absent. It is appropriate when children with long term disabilities are home and need extra care. Parents will need time out and home health care that fills in and gives them a respite now and then.

Home health care is also appropriate for all those conditions that require assistance but not advanced technological care beyond what is routine care. Home health care workers are taught how to use lifts to get patients in and out of beds, how to give routine treatments, change catheters, insert feeding tubes, give IV's as treatments. In other words, assist in a patient's care so that they may live at home. Alzheimer's patients can be cared for at home with a full time health care worker. And patients with highly contagious disease should be quarantined at home - whenever possible - so as not to risk infecting others. They, of course will need at home care.

When Home health care is not appropriate when there is no one to look after a frail and sick person that is in need of advanced care. Neither should Alzheimer patients remain at home alone or with intermittent help only, they need around the clock observance. When a disease is highly contagious, the patients should not be left at home alone if critically ill, but quarantined in a facility that is prepared to care for this particular type of illness. Home care for the violent is not a good idea when there is danger to other family members. They, for their own protection, as well as for the protection of other family members, should be in facilities that can protect them from themselves as well as protecting other family members.

Home care is the care of choice for several reasons: It is less expensive, satisfying to the patient, promotes wellness by treating others humanely, and, not to be forgotten in these day of unemployment, gives jobs to the unemployed and helps train workers toward careers in health care. Most of the type of home care that is sorely needed is of the kind that most people can do. Home care reinforces the principle of people caring for people.

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